Show f J RELATIVE VOTING STRENGTH Jj I j j 1 i In these columns the othermorn I r ing it vas shown pretty clearly t 1 i that there ire in the territory today l to-day not less than 35000 persons eligible eli-gible to vote This number does not a include the 8000 or 10000 excluded f from the polls by the Edmunds act r0 nor the foreign born persons of voting vot-ing age who have not been admitted + to citizenship It does however include L I in-clude a percentage of women not i a large percentagewho under our laws have the Tight to exercise the ta franchise It is hardly to be expected + ex-pected that all of these persons eligible i eli-gible to vote will be registered for i there are some in every community whe are so indifferent to the privilege privi-lege of exercising the franchise that they would not put themselves out In the least to do so We have heard I men say they cared so little 4 s for voting or who were in office that they would not cross the street to cast their ballots or elect a candidate j can-didate Such persons if they are t 4 not bad citizens certainly are not good ones People who neither vote f nor care to do so are usually worthless t worth-less persons in the community l i Again it never happens that all s I I i who are registered go to the polls on I 4 election day Business keeps some h away thoughtlesness others and laziness or want of interest still ri I others Ordinarily it is regarded a full vote if tho returns equal y fourfifths of the registration lists If a voting population of 35000 cast 25000 votes it is considered extraordinary 9 1 extra-ordinary and 35000 registered r 1 = voters who deposit 27000 ballots r i iJ r 1 are esteemed as commendably faithful i faith-ful to their duties in this respect j f1 The circumstances in Utah at j present are different from those of the past There is an incentive to I I r pretty nearly all to vote that is to s 1 say to all who can lawfully I i 1 exercise that privilege We are act j 1 ing under law that was intended to I put r the very Jarge majority Into the minority so far as voting and office 3 bolding are concerned If this was not the design of the Edmunds act then there was no design in itJ and I its passage a piece of inexplicable f Stupidity on the part of congress r 1 It remains to be seen whether the Senators Representatives reckoned reck-oned without their host l As stated the voters or those entitled 1 i en-titled to vote number 35000 No 1 one is able to say definitely how these are divided in sentiment as to 4 the local issues but there is a basis l from which a reasonably close estimate 1 esti-mate may be made The parties 1 here whatever may be the names S 1f they prefer to be called by whether t1 People Liberal Republican Demo I e crat or any other are simply I i4 s ilonnon and Gentile NonMor t 1 mons sometimes train with the I f Mormons and vote with them I ° i F either from conviction of right or on y ii y p aecount of policy but speaking j ti a generally the Gentiles go together h if they go at all and the Mormons 1 J likewise The parties being Mormon 4 Mor-mon and antiMormon it is important im-portant to know their relative i s strength at the polls The census I showed there were in the territory r = in round figures 120000 Mormons tL J and 25000 of all others meaning for election purposes antiMormons L While the population has increased somewhat the relative strength of the classes has not materially changed If there has been any advantage 4 vantage it has been on the side of the Mormons through their young f men and women coming of I i 4 1s 1 C S age and the naturalization of the foreigners amongst them Everybody will admit that in these two ways they have gained more voters than the Gentiles have from the incoming miners and others affiliating with them in their opposition oppo-sition to the majority class It has been claimed that in the same number num-ber people there is a larger percentage per-centage of voters among the Gentiles than the Mormons the former being mostly men and having few and comparatively small families whereas it need hardly be written that the Mormons as a rule have families and large ones It should be borne in mind by those who give the voting advantage largely to the Gentiles that women hold the franchise fran-chise in this territory the wives widows and daughters voting as well as the males This circumstance circum-stance increases largely the percentage percent-age of Mormon votes and brings it U p very nearly if not quite to that ofjithe Gentiles Observation we believe will verify the statement that among both classes there is one vote or rather one eligible to vote to every 35 persons The percentage percent-age of voters will seem large to people peo-ple outside of Utah but female suffrage suf-frage explains it If our figures and estimates have been correct the 35000 persons entitled en-titled to a vote should be made up of 28000 Mormons and 7OOOGentileB We are confident the figures are not far out the relative strength of the parties is certainly very nearly correct cor-rect The Mormons then can understand under-stand whether there is any danger of losing the election provided they do their duty in the matters of registration and voting If they will do this they can outvote the non Mormons four to one The coming election wills not be one of those however where ever body can safely entrust the business of electing elect-ing to everybody else 1 he peoples party may rest assured that the opposition op-position believes it has a chancefor success It is preparing to do all in its power to elect it may be basing its calculations upon the slender votes of the past as representing something like the full strength oft of-t e peoples party and counting I upon the disfranchisement of 10000 persons to reducs the Mormon vote below the Gentile strength |